Witch Bound

Because there was hunger there, raw and blazing. He does want me. But eclipsing that desire was a stone hard determination that shattered her fragile hope. It didn’t matter how he felt or did not feel about her.

“I’m sorry, Rocky. I’m not doing this.”

Before she could even phrase a response, he walked away. She scrambled from bed, calling his name. The sheet fell away, but he didn’t look back. Just slammed the door shut behind him.

He shouted something to the people downstairs on his way out. They were arguing in earnest now. She hadn’t even noticed until she was standing there staring at the closed door with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Someone—Grace probably—had left a pair of yoga pants and a cotton T-shirt on the hope chest at the foot of the bed. This bedroom faced northwest and a blast of wind made the window shake in its frame. On the news last night, they’d said a storm was coming. There would be snow soon. There was already a foot of it on the ground back home.

The voices below rose. Aiden. Christian. Lois and—oh, God—her mother was here too. She glanced at the window and seriously considered making a break for it. Sliding down the drainpipe and running away like Fen had. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she rejected it. This was her mess.

She dressed quickly, thinking about faults and wards and surges. She tried to accustom herself to the feeling of all that power at her fingertips. She very pointedly did not think about Fen and the look on his face right before he walked out the door. She couldn’t push him. He either felt the same toward her...or he didn’t. She knew he’d never wanted a mate. As a hound, he had valid reasons for that decision. She tried not to take that personally, even though it hurt like hell. If Fen needed space to sort through that, she’d give it to him. Either way, she’d made up her mind—she couldn’t marry Christian.

She walked down the stairs, now close enough to hear the conversation clearly. They were arguing about her.

“The contract stands.” Her heart cringed in shame at the sound of Christian’s voice. “No one was hurt.” Aiden murmured something and Christian spoke again. “No one was hurt permanently and she fixed it. The portal is more stable now than it was when she accidently broke it open.”

“It was no accident,” Lois said sharply. “She was being criminally reckless. I won’t work with a witch who doesn’t know how to control her own power. It was pride and greed.”

Christian swore. “I’ll defer to your expertise on both of those points, but it doesn’t change my decision. A contract is a contract.”

Raquel rubbed a hand over her face. Christian was defending her and she’d just practically thrown herself at his friend. She needed to talk to him as soon as possible, talk to her parents and to Aiden. Regardless of whether Fen ever accepted her, she couldn’t bind Christian like this. And if they wouldn’t release her from the contract? She didn’t know.

Her head throbbed with every step. She needed to focus on what she could control. Apologize for her stupid-ass mistake. Replace the wards. Whether she stayed in Ragnarok or went home, she’d make sure they had the most perfectly formed wards Midgard had ever seen.

She would offer to help them figure out what exactly was causing the wards to fail too. She’d thought it was just age causing the instability, but after last night... No. That wasn’t natural degradation. There was more to it. She paused in the hallway as she caught the tail end of her mother’s attack on Lois.

“You’re jealous because she’s more powerful than you will ever be. You liked having her under your thumb and now you have no reason to maintain your position.”

Kathy cut off her tirade. “For heaven’s sake, Joanne, don’t throw oil on the fire. Raquel won’t push Lois out. This was bound to happen eventually.” She paused and conceded, “The timing is unfortunate.”

Conversation stopped as Raquel entered the kitchen and everyone turned to stare.

Grace put her hand on her husband’s arm as if to restrain him. Raquel’s mother rushed forward to lead her to the open seat beside Kathy. Christian kept his place in the middle of the small kitchen, leaning against the counter. Opposite him, Lois glared daggers when Raquel briefly met her gaze.

Surprisingly, it was Elin, seated across the table, who spoke first. “Are you okay, Raquel? You should still be in bed.”

There was sincere concern in the dark eyes that studied her. Elin was offering her support and a little friendly advice too. That look said, Run now and hide until they cool off.

“I need to be here.”

Elin tipped her head toward the center of the kitchen. “They’re just blowing off steam.”

Raquel looked at Aiden. He was furious. White-faced and cold-eyed, not an ounce of welcome in that rocky regard.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I tried to break my block, but I never thought it would have that kind of effect.”

“You should have known better,” he growled.

She almost tried to defend herself—she’d taken precautions. But this wasn’t about her clearing her name. She’d placed everyone in danger and she’d accept responsibility for that. Clan always came first. Breaking her block was not a good enough reason to have taken the risk she’d taken last night.

“I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate. It was reckless of me to rush into that experiment.”

“Experiment,” Lois scoffed.

Raquel ignored her. “Your problem isn’t entirely with the age of the wards. When I was restoring them, someone fought me for control.”

Lois squeaked in outrage and Aiden silenced her with a look.

“You were the only witch there,” he said, returning his attention to Raquel. He grimaced. “At least, the only one still standing.”

“It came from the other side.” This was too important to let them brush it aside because they were angry with her. “The spell wasn’t strong, but I got the impression that it had been there for a while, had already become a part of the wards...like a parasite or a virus.”

Aiden paused to consider that, but Lois shook her head in disgust. “You’re making excuses. The wards were fine until you pushed an abominable amount of power into them. You flooded the fault and we’re lucky that anyone—”

“Lois.” Aiden’s voice cracked out like a whip. Lois glared at Raquel and then her expression changed subtly as her gaze lifted to a point over Raquel’s shoulder. Raquel glanced back to find Rane standing there, leaning against the doorframe. Christian moved forward to wrap an arm around her waist. Raquel started to get up, but he waved her down and placed Rane in the chair Elin vacated for her sister.

“You’re making enough noise to raise the dead.” Rane’s gaze swept the room, lingered on Raquel. “What happened to you? I missed something.”

“There was a surge while you were unconscious,” Aiden said. “We took care of it.”

Rane opened her mouth to press for more but seemingly thought better of it and shook her head. “Never mind. I can guess. I heard what she told you about the wards. She’s right. And I know who’s tampering with them. It’s only going to get worse unless we stop it. Can I get some coffee?” She rubbed at her face as Christian poured her a mug and set it on the table.

“Rane,” Aiden said. “What happened over there?”

“I tracked the aberration to Kamis—that’s his name by the way, the Vanir exile. They’ve half-imprisoned him in an ice floe. His legs to the thigh and his arms to the shoulder are locked in one of Surtr’s pits. I found him by chance, saw the glint from his armor as I flew overhead. He’s a witch.”

Lois snorted and Rane met her gaze directly, holding it until Lois flinched and looked away. “The Vanir have male witches as powerful as their females. Kamis is powerful, even I could feel that. They tried to force him to split the portal wide enough for one of the higher-level demons to pass through. He refused. Now they’re draining him using an artifact they dug up from the ice and pouring the energy into the fault. That’s like using a hammer to pound at a mountain, he said. It might break through the rock eventually, but it will take time.”